Iphone in India : Look before you leap !

I went to Nehru Place today, chatted around with a few mobile phone dealers. I asked them by when could i buy an Iphone in India. Most of them said within a week or two i will be able to get one. And unlocking i asked , they said it will be a Rs.500 job, costs them nothing once they learn the procedure. Anyway i continued going deeper and the trail got murkier. I asked a dealer how can they be sure to Unlock the Iphone, he told me that his ‘contacts’ in Apple had assured him that the Iphone was unlockable and that they would be given the process to do so.

But here i would like to warn all readers reading this, the Iphone will be officially launched in India in 2008, dunno, but the marketing team of Apple is plain dumb. India is a huge market for Smart Phones and they delay the launch forcing people to goto Grey market dealers. Now these grey market dealers are anything but honest. And they too like the Apple marketing team are plain dumb. Most of them were unaware of the new activation thing on the Iphone. They thought that unlocking the Iphone will be like unlocking any other Symbian phone. Many of the dealers actually confidently told me that the Iphone is symbian based. I almost died laughing. With such ill-informed and studpid salesmen, i would advise everyone to wait atleast for 3-4 months before even thinking about the Iphone in India, unless you see proof of proper functioning in front of you.

Many features will be unavailable even if its unlocked and not activated. Activation will require more money from your pocket and seriously i dont see this working. The Iphone will not let you use all its features unless its fully activated.

Dont be misled by dealers of Palika Bazaar and other such places, you might regret your decision. Say iWait to the iPhone.

Later Addon –

Many of our readers have successfully unlocked the Iphone, such that the Iphone now works in India. If you too have done the same, please make a video of the Iphone working on Airtel/Hutch and send its link to use.

Its almost confirmed that the Iphone works in India now, but beware of software updates, as some of them may relock your phone.

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Hi this is Satish,I am located in Bangalore.Recently i got my Iphone not a 3G from US it’s
Firmware is – 2.2[5G77]
Model Firmware is – 04.05.04_G
Does any one in Bangalore know to unlock and activate this Iphone
plz contact me

hey buddies…..hope u all hvin d prob. of unlocking d i phn…
well m frm indore…n indore is d city of unlockin i phones….here in a particular market i saw many i phones which r gettin unlocking…really…
n nw….here, dey r ready fr a second hand buyers too…

hiee…dis is shams..im from mumbai..i wanna buy iphone which cud work on airtel network..

i tried surfing apple official site..but had no luck cuz apple delivers its products only to limited countries which does not include india..and i wanted to buy iphone online and make it shipped to india..

its not a big deal to unlock and jailbreak ur iphone but its firmware should not be 3.1.3 or higher………just google it….and type and download “custom IPSW file for firmware 3.1.2”,after that u need to open ur itunes and connect ur iphone …..click the iphone tab then press RHS shift key and restore icon at the same time in ur itune…..now ur jailbreak is done baby……
……after jailbreak u need to unlock ur iphone so just go 2 ur cydia icon in ur iphone and type “ultrasnow” in the search bar….and install in ur iphone……NOW UR JOB IS DONE…….COMPLETLY UNLOCK AND JAILBREAK.

Hi;
I am from Tamilnadu and my brother is in US now. I know about iPhone (a bit i guess) and in apple store with AT&T contract it costs around USD 99 or 199 based on the model. So what i wanna know is that if my brother buy 1 for me and bring it here (India) after unlocking or jailbreaking it will AT&T charge my brother for violating the terms and Conditions????? or will it charge later if i update the firmware (after unlocking it) ?? Plz reply me.. And specifically tell me about iPhone 4G. Can it be used here (Guess its not in the market yet.. but has great features)

Some queries regarding the usage of iPhone in INDIA?
Hello,
I am from TN, India. My brother is in US now and i am very much impressed with the apple’s iPhone and i have planned to ask my brother to get me one. In apple store its said that it can be bought by paying USD 99 to 199 based on the model we choose along with a 2 year contract with AT&T. And i know something about jail breaking and unlocking. Now here are my queries,

1) Will AT&T charge (my brother) for unlocking it and using in India?

2) Will any of the termination charges be imposed by AT&T?

3) Will iPhone 4G (yet 2 be released) can be unlocked?

4) And if I restore my iPhone (after upgrading the firmware or due to some mistakes in unlocking/jail breaking) will AT&T detect that and charge for violating its terms?

5) Is it better to unlock the iPhone in US and then bring it here OR bring it to India and then unlock here?

i recently checked the rate of i phone at an apple store online, it was 99$ for 8GB, 199$ for 16GB and 299$ for 32GB.
Should i get it frm us??
will it work on airtel in india???
its price in india is Rs35,000/- for 16GB and Rs41,000/- for 32GB!!!!!
help me someone????????

@all – please remember that the Iphone in USA comes with a contract, even if you jailbreak it in India the person in USA will have to continue to have to pay for its usage/contact or pay a hefty severance fee. Dont be fooled by the 99 or 199 dollar price.